2nd Test: India vs England at Chennai, Feb 11, 2021
India won by 317 runs
India 329/10 (95.5) & 286/10 (85.5)
England 134/10 (59.5) & 164/10 (54.2)
RR: 3.02
Last 12 Balls: . 4 6 1 . . | 4 W
Batsman
Runs
Balls
4s
6s
Current Partnership: 10 runs, 2.5 overs, RR: 3.53 (Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel )
Last Wicket: SCJ Broad 5(10)
R Ashwin (MoM): This wicket was very different to the one we played on in the first game. This was a red soil wicket, the first one was a clay wicket. As much as people were predicting things from the outside, I thought the balls that was doing much wasn't getting wickets. It was the mind of the batsmen that got us wickets. I have been playing for years over here now and it takes pace and guile to do it. Keeping intent was very important. It is very important to put pressure on the bowlers because if you allow them to dictate terms, it is going to get easier. I just wanted to take it upon myself, and after I connected the first ball, I knew I got a hang of this wicket. I am someone who tries hard, and when things don't go my way, I try harder.
Virat Kohli (IND): It was a bit strange in the first game to be playing at home with empty stands. We were pretty flat on the first two days over there to be pretty honest, myself included, didn't pick up energy on the field. But from the second innings onwards in the first game, we picked up and wee on the money in terms of our body language. The crowds make a big difference, this game was an example of the grit and determination this side shows and the crowd is a big part of that. Chennai crowd are very intelligent, they understand their cricket really well. In a 15-20 minute period where the bowler needs the support of the crowd, it is my responsibility to involve everyone and bring in the crowd. If I am running in to bowl in this heat, I need people to motivate me. It is a perfect game for us. The conditions were challenging for both sides, but we showed more application with the bat. We didn't panic out there looking at the turn and bounce, we showed grit, got into the game and scored 600 runs in the game. We know our bowlers would do the job for us if we put up these runs. The toss wouldn't have mattered much in this game to be honest, because if you looked at our second innings, we got 300 as well. It wasn't unfair if the toss went either way. Both teams should be in the game from the first session onwards, whether it is on spinning to seaming tracks, and that exactly was the case in this game
Joe Root (ENG): Credit to India, they outplayed us in all three departments. It has been an education for us, you could come up with conditions like these and we have to learn from this and find a way to score runs. We need to learn to build pressure and bowl six balls at one batsman. On day one we could have been a bit tighter, squeeze the game a bit more and make it harder for them to score. From day two it was a very difficult wicket to bat on. But we have got to be smarter about how we're building innings. We are 1-1 and we are excited about the next two games given the way we played in the first game. We could've played that extra spinner, it is always easy to look at balancing aside at the end of the game. It will be different again when we turn up for the third game which will be a day-nighter, and very exciting last two games. Moeen got better with the ball as the game went on, and we know how destructive he can be with the bat. Ben Foakes batted really well in the first innings and his keeping has always been excellent. There are definitely things we can take from this week and it is just important that we stay level as a team. We performed last week and we have got to learn quickly. There are a lot of players who haven't played much cricket in this region and we have to learn quickly, which is something we have done well over the last few years.
Kuldeep Yadav: It was important to stay along with the team when it's playing well. My job was to keep control, contain runs from one end, and chip in as one of the three spinners on this track. We have been planning for this series for a long time, right from the Australia series. There was some pressure (on himself), having not played a lot of Tests in the last two years. Was discussing a lot with Ashwin regarding bowling in the right areas and putting pressure on the batsmen. We weren't worried (about losing the first Test), we have been in such situations before, in my first series (in 2017), we had lost the first Test against Australia in Pune. We're relaxed, we knew we had the team to come back and perform. Everyone was just focused on doing well in this Test.
Axar Patel: It was a good experience, to get a five-wicket haul on debut is special. As Kuldeep said, there was much happening on the pitch. It was about varying your speed and I just kept doing it. Forced the batsman to make mistakes. On the first day itself, it was turning. So, we bowled tight lines and got the rewards.
India won by 317 runs and level the series with 1-1
